Piano Sonatas Nos. 19 and 20 (Beethoven)

2, are short sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven, published in 1805 (although the works were actually composed a decade earlier in early to mid 1797[1]).

20 was possibly written around the time Beethoven composed the Third and Fourth sonatas, but because it was published in Vienna in 1805, nearly a decade after it was actually written, it was assigned then-current opus and sonata numbers, which classified it alongside works from the composer's middle period.

In the case of these two sonatas, it was Kaspar van Beethoven, the composer's brother, who decided they were worthy of publication.

Against the composer's will, he presented them to a publishing house, thus allowing posterity to hear works that might otherwise have been lost or destroyed.

Charles Rosen, while noting the sonata's lack of technical challenges, states that it is a "deeply affecting and distinguished work".

After restating the theme in the bass with new counterpoint in the treble, the work closes with a brief coda, ending with a Picardy third.

Because the Septet was the later piece (1799–1800), Beethoven's suppression of the sonata and reuse of one of its themes suggests that he perhaps planned to scrap the piano work altogether.